Construction of fireproof grain-bins, elevators, or other buildings.



.No. 664,324. Patented Dec; 18, I900 E. V. JOHNSON. CONSTRUCTION 0F FIBEPROUF GRAIN BINS, ELEVATORS, OR OTHER BUILDINGS.

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UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

ERNEST V. JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONSTRUCTION OF FIREPROOF GRAIN-BINS, ELEVATORS,-OR OTHER BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 664,324, dated December 18, 1900.

Original application filed October 16,1899, Serial No. 733,732. Divided and this application filed May 31,1900. Serial No. i 18,551. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST V. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a newand useful Improvement in the Construction of Fireproof Grain- Bins,Elevators, or other Buildings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of fireproof grain bins, elevators, or other buildings, the walls of which are subjected to great outward or bulging pressure as well as to great weight or crushing force from the grain or other material confined within and by such walls, the same being usually made sixty, eighty, or more feet in height.

The object of my invention is to providea practical and efficient construction of fireproof building or'grain-bin that is to say, one which is. at once sufficientlycheap in construction to enable it to be practically built and used and at the same time sufficiently strong to 'withstand the enormous strains from and by the great mass and height of grain or other materialconfined within and by it.

My invention consists in the means I employ to practically accomplish this important result-that is to say, it consists in a cylindrical building or grain bin having cylindrical masonry or tilework walls composed alternately of courses of horizontally-arranged tile and courses of vertically-arranged hollow tile laid in double parallel rows with a space between the rows and a tensile acting metal member or band arranged edgewise in said intervening space and united (by cementor mortar filling said intervening space) throughout its length and width with the masonry or tilework; In this way the tensile acting metal member or band has a bearing upon a large area of the masonry or tilework wall,andasitisembedded in cementthroughout its length and width each acting portion of the tensile acting metal member may be regarded as extremely short, because it is effectually anchored, so to speak, at every point of its length in the cement. For this reason it gives great tensile strength with a comparatively light weight of metal to resist outward or bulging pressure to which the wall is subjected from the grain or other material within, and consequently the tensile acting metal member when thus arranged and combined with the other parts adds but slightly to the cost of the Wall,while givingit very great tensile strength and support. The tensile acting metal member or band may preferably consist of strips of woven wire or other metal fabric, although a band of plain sheet metal may be used or what is commonly known in the market as expanded metal.

In practice I ordinarily build my circular buildings or grain-bins about twenty feet in diameter and sixty, eighty, or more feet in .height, as may be desired, and the hollow tile used to form the parallel rows of vertically-arranged tile may preferably be about one foot in height, four inches in thickness, and about one or two feet in length, and the tile composing the horizontal course are preferably about two inches in thickness and equal in width to the thickness of the wall.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of a cylindrical grain-bin or other building embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a partial central vertical section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of the wall, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the wall broken away in parts to show the construction.

In the drawings, A represents a cylindrical grain-bin or other building having its fireproof masonry or tilework walls composed alternately of courses B of horizontallyarranged tile (9, which are preferably solid and arranged tile 01, composing the two parallel rows D D have hollows or open spaces 01' extending vertically through the same and registering with the openings b in the horizontally-arranged solid tile B. Continuous vertical passages or lines are thus formed through the wall from the bottom to the top thereof, which is or may be of service in facilitating the absorption of moisture by the tilework wall from the grain or other material Within the bin or building. The horizontally-arranged tile 1) being the full Width of the wall extend across and bind together said parallel rows D D -of vertically-arranged tile 01, and the cement filling F unites the tensile acting metal band C throughoutits length and width with the outer and inner rows of tile. The masonry thus complements and supports the tensile-acting member,which in turn complements,reinforces,and strengthens the masonry substantially throughout its whole surface. My fireproof masonry wall of circular or cylindric form is thus at once adapted to successfully withstand the great internal weight and pressure due to the weight of the grain or other material contained in the bin.

When my improved cylindrical fireproof building or bin is employed for storing grain or other granular material, it is preferably furnished with a hopper-shaped bottom or floor G and a discharge-spout G.

My improved cylindrical wall may be furnished with tie-rods H, if desired.

In Fig. 2 portions of two cylindrical grainbins are shown located near each other, as a series of them are preferably employed in a single grain-elevator.

I claim- 1. In a fireproof cylindrical grain-bin or other buildinghavingits cylindrical wall composed of alternate courses of vertical and horizontal tile, the courses of vertical tile each consisting of two parallel rows provided with a tensile acting metal band or member placed edgewise between the rows and surrounding the inner row of said tile, said tensile acting band or metal member being embedded in cement filling the space between said parallel rows, and the courses of horizontally-arranged tile extending across and binding said parallel rows of vertically-arranged tile, the cement uniting the tensile acting metal hand throughout its length and width with the outer and inner rows of tile, substantially as specified.

2. A fireproof grain elevator, bin or other cement filling said space and uniting said metal band throughout its-length and width with the tilework,substantially as specified. 3. A fireproof cylindrical grain-bin or other building having masonry walls composed of alternate double-row courses and single-row courses bonding the double-row courses, the

double-row courses having a space between their outer and inner rows, a tensile acting metal member or band placed edgewise in said space and surrounding the inner row, and ce- 'ment filling said space and rigidly uniting said tensile acting metal member or band with the masonry, substantially as specified.

4. A fireproof cylindrical grain-bin or other building having cylindrical masonry walls composed of alternate double-row courses and sin gle-row courses bonding the double-row courses, the double-row courses having a space between their outer and inner rows, cement filling said space and rigidly uniting the inner and outer rows, said double-row courses being each composed of vertically-arranged hollow tile and said single row courses being composed of thin fiat tile spanning the doublerow courses, substantially as specified.

5. A fireproof cylindrical grain-bin or other building having cylindrical masonry walls com posed of alternate double-row courses and single-row courses bonding the double-row courses,the double-row courses having a space between their outer and inner rows, cement filling said space and rigidly uniting the inner and outer rows, said double-row courses bein g each composed of vertically-arranged hollow tile and said single row courses being composed of thin fiat tile spanning the doublerow courses, and having vertical openings through the same registering with the hollows or open spaces in said vertically arranged tile, and thus forming continuous vertical airpassages in thewall, substantially as specified.

ERNEST V. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADOOOK. 

